1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a device for placing temporary pavement markers used as short-term temporary road markers during road resurfacing, and more particularly relates to a device for placing temporary pavement markers in a desired location from a moving vehicle.
2. Background Information
Periodic road maintenance normally includes pavement resurfacing using either a chip, slurry, or road seal compound that is applied over the original surface in order to restore and protect it. When this is done, the existing painted traffic lines, be they centerlines, passing lines, no passing lines, turn lane lines, or any other traffic painted line will be covered and thereby obliterated and no longer visible.
In order to preserve the accurate location and type designation of these lines, temporary pavement markers are first installed on the road surface prior to any road coating operation. These temporary pavement markers are typically formed of a resilient plastic material and have a base portion and an upwardly extending standing reflective portion that will extend up through each and every layer of coating applied to the road surface during the resurfacing operation. Typically, the base portion of the marker has affixed to it an adhesive that holds the temporary pavement marker to the road. The material from which temporary pavement markers are made is not intended to withstand permanent road traffic conditions, and will either be manually torn off, break off because of weather exposure, or will be pulverized by traffic on the resurfaced road. However, they are designed to last long enough for the entire resurfacing project to be completed, and up to and including the repainting of the various traffic lines upon the new surface.
Placement of these temporary pavement markers are usually done either manually, where they are set in position by someone walking along the road and placing them on a surface, or they are put in place by some type of mechanical apparatus, which may be towed or driven along the road. The placement of these devices along the roadway requires that the adhesive flat backing portion be activated so as to allow the marker to interact with the surface of the road upon which it is placed. These pavement markers must also be placed in correct locations so as to provide for safe operation of motor vehicles in roads that are under construction. This requires that the placement of these reflective devices is done in a way that is both quick and precise.
For purposes of illustration in this specification, a chip sealing operation will be described, including the three stages thereof so as to fully understand the prior art and present invention. FIG. 1 shows a typical temporary road pavement marker. These markers have a base portion to which an adhesive is applied, and an upwardly extending standing portion that has one or more reflectors attached thereto. For convenience this portion will be referred to as the standing portion throughout the specification. Covering the reflective standing portion of the temporary marker are layers of clear protective covers. The purpose of these clear protective covers is to enable the maintenance crew to renew the reflective properties of the temporary road marker between the various coatings that are applied to the road during the chip sealing operation.
In practice a crew of laborers, prior to any chip sealing work, lays down temporary pavement markers over the top of the existing traffic lines. These markers signal the location of the traffic lines and are necessary both for safety reasons as well as to designate the location for permanent road marker placement which will be placed after the road resurfacing operation is completed. After the markers are placed, the remainder of the chip seal operation can continue. Typically, this would include a coating of oil being applied to the pavement which will coat the pavement and the reflective surfaces of the temporary road marker. This is followed by the deposit and compaction of a layer of chips or gravel, which would seal to the original surface through the base coat of oil. After this has been done the reflective portions of the markers are often covered with this mixture of oil, rock chips and gravel. In order for the reflective portions of the road marker to be seen, one of the protective covers is removed and the reflective portions of the marker are then visible. After the rock chips are deposited and compacted, a third sealing coat of oil may be applied to the road surface. In as much as this step would again cover the reflective standing portion of the device, another protective covering must be removed in order to reveal the reflective standing portion of the road marker.
After this is done a paint truck will follow along the road and repaint the lines using the temporary markers as a guide for the type and position of the lines to be painted. If markers have come loose or are placed inappropriately, it is possible that the road could be marked incorrectly thus resulting in a dangerous situation for drivers on the road.
Typically, placement of the road markers is done in a coded fashion to indicate the existence of solid and broken traffic lines, turn lanes, and fog lines. As discussed previously, this placement must be done both quickly and correctly. Misplaced markers can result in traffic accidents and misplaced permanent traffic indicators. Since the markers must be placed both correctly and quickly, a variety of prior art means have been developed.
The prior art describes both manual placement of these temporary marking devices, which is very time consuming, as well as automated placement devices which allow the markers to be placed more quickly. In the manual method, an adhesive is placed upon the base portion of the marker, or a preexisting portion of the base marker is exposed and the marker is placed manually in a desired location upon the road surface. Usually the persons who place these markers either walk or drive from location to location. When these persons arrive at a desired location they stop, apply an adhesive and place the base portion of the marker upon the road. This process is both time consuming and labor intensive.
Some automated devices also exist which place pavement markers in desired locations. Most of these devices have a feeder means which feed markers into a position for placement, an adhesive means is then either placed upon the roadway or the base of the marker and the marker is placed upon the road surface. One significant drawback to most of these pieces of machinery is cost. Many of these pieces of machinery, while useful, are also expensive and therefore inaccessible by a variety of smaller companies. Another drawback of many of these automated devices is that they lack the ability to place marks in complicated patterns or to account for other modifications in road surfaces or traffic pattern layout.
Accordingly, what is needed is a device for placing temporary pavement markers on road surfaces that allows these markers to be placed quickly and correctly in proper locations. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for placing road markers upon a road surface which is economically accessible to a greater variety of persons than present devices. Another object of the invention is to provide a device for placing road markers which can be used in conjunction with a motorized vehicle to place road markers in desired locations in a way that is quicker than manual placement and more accurate than traditional prior art mechanical placement devices. Another object of the invention is to provide a device for placement of temporary road marker in complex patterns that is more efficient than placing such markers manually.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.
The invention is a device for placing individual road markers in desired configurations along a road surface. Each of the road markers to be placed has a base portion (preferably with an adhesive surface) and an upright standing portion which is usually covered with a reflective marker or coating. In its simplest form, the invention comprises a application wheel having at least one aperture connected to a frame by an axle. This frame is then moved by a moving means which rolls the application wheel across a road surface.
The apertures of the application wheel are dimensioned to receive all or part of the standing reflective portion of the road marker therein. When the standing reflective portion of the road marker is inserted within the aperture, the base portion of the road marker is oriented tangential to the surface of the application wheel. In this position, an adhesive can be placed upon the base portion of the application wheel or the adhesive portion of the base can be exposed. It is also to be understood that the adhesive may be applied or exposed prior to placing the marker within the application wheel. Once the marker is in a desired position within the wheel, the application wheel can then be rolled over a surface. As the application wheel rolls over the surface, the base portion of the marker contacts the road surface. The adhesive portion of the marker causes the base of the marker to become adhered to the road surface. As the application wheel continues to roll, the standing reflective portion of the marker is withdrawn from its position within aperture of the application wheel, and remains in a desired location upon the road surface.
The placement of the marker upon the road surface is further facilitated by a compression means such as a subsequent wheel or other device which passes over the marker after the marker has been applied and compresses the marker into the road surface. This compression helps the adhesive to contact the road surface more fully and assists to maintain the marker in a desired location.
In various embodiments, additional means may be employed to control a variety of factors relating to the application and compression wheels, for example the rotation of the application wheel, the size of the apertures, the placement of the markers or the attachment means for connecting the frame of the application wheel to a moving means may all be variously configured to achieve the desired results.
In one embodiment of the invention, the application wheel and frame are connected to a pull-along type trailer. The trailer is made up of a hitch that is configured to connect to a pulling means such as an all-terrain vehicle or other motorized vehicle. The hitch is connected to a platform which is supported upon rolling wheels. One side of the platform has an adjustment bracket and a pivot axle which hold the frame containing the application wheel and the compression wheel in a desired position. One of the support wheels which support the platform may be configured for placement behind the application wheel so as to act as a compression wheel to the markers placed by the application wheel. This wheel supports the platform, and can also act as a secondary compression wheel to further compress the placed marker into the road surface.
The frame and application wheel are adjustably connected to one side of the platform by an adjustable connection bracket and by a pivot rod. The position of the frame and application wheel are controlled through a release lever that is connected both to the platform and to the application wheel frame. The release lever is configured to control the movement of the application wheel from a loading position where the application wheel is not in contact with a road surface to an application position where the application wheel is in contact with the road surface. A catch latch is configured to interact with a portion of the application wheel and holds the application wheel in a position for loading markers into the apertures. The top of the platform has a seatback and a storage rack configured to respectively support the user and provide a storage rack for markers to be used with the device. Other materials and features such as a shield may also be added the platform or other parts of the trailer in order to assist the user of the device.
In use, the user of the device is seated upon the platform behind the storage rack with their back against the seatback. The application wheel and frame are held in the loading position wherein the application wheel is not in contact with the road surface. The hitch of the platform is connected to the pulling means that is pulling the device forward at a desired rate of speed. The user is seated next to the application wheel and frame. The user places a road marker into the slot of the application wheel and prepares the adhesive portion of the base. If so desired the user may also prepare the adhesive portion of the base prior to placing the marker within the slot of the application wheel. Upon finding the location where the marker is to be placed, the user activates the lever to lower the application wheel into contact with the road surface and activates the catch release allowing the application wheel to rotate. The application wheel then rotates to place the wheel upon the road surface in the desired position. Upon contacting the road surface the adhesive of the marker base contacts and adheres to the road surface. The standing reflective portion of the marker then removes itself from within the application wheel and the application wheel continues to roll. After the marker has been placed, the user can then raise the application wheel back to the loading position and place another marker into the device. In some embodiments, this process is facilitated by the catch release re-engaging the application wheel and preventing further rotation of the application wheel beyond a position where the apertures are accessible to the user for marker insertion.
After the marker has been placed, a compression wheel runs over the marker to compress the marker into the road surface, and to further adhere the base of the marker to the road surface. In some embodiments, the compression wheel may be a second wheel placed in a frame and configured to follow the application wheel. In other embodiments the compression may be achieved by one of the support wheels of the trailer rolling over the marker and further compressing the marker into the road surface. Depending upon the necessities of the user or the application a variety of a number of compression means may be utilized.
Since the speed at which the vehicle pulling the device can be varied, and the placement of the markers is done manually, this device enables persons to place complex patterns in a manner that is more rapid and precise than existing prior art methods and devices. This device thus provides a method and device for placing temporary road markers upon a surface to be paved in a way that can be done in a way that can be done more quickly and at a lower cost than methods currently known in the prior art. This device also enables a user to place temporary pavement markers on road surfaces quickly and correctly in proper locations. The present invention also provides a device which is economically accessible to a greater variety of persons than present devices. The present invention also provides a device which can be used in conjunction with a motorized vehicle to place road markers in desired locations in a way that is quicker than manual placement and more accurate than traditional prior art mechanical placement devices. The present invention for placement of temporary road markers in complex patterns is more efficient than placing such markers manually.